Obukhovskii 12"/52 Pattern 1907 gun

"MK-3-12" on the Soviet battleship Parizhskaia Kommuna (formerly Sevastopol), 1925

The Obukhovskii 12"/52 Pattern 1907 gun was a Russian and Soviet 305 mm (12 inch) naval gun. It was the most powerful gun to be mounted aboard battleships of the Imperial Russian Navy.

They followed the 12"/40 (30.5 cm) Pattern 1895 guns as used on the Andrey Pervozvanny class battleships

History

The guns were developed by the Obukhovskii Works, with the first prototype being completed in 1907. Allowable barrel life for pieces mounted aboard Black Sea Fleet units was 400 rounds per gun. The guns were considered excellent pieces, and were deployed aboard the Gangut and Imperatritsa Mariya class dreadnoughts in triple turret mountings constructed by the Metallicheskii Works. These triple-gun turrets were designated "MK-3-12".

General characteristics

• Barrel length: 52 calibers
• Maximum laying speed: vertical - 4 degrees per second, horizontal - 3.2 degrees per second
• Rate of fire: 2-3 rounds per minute
• Shell weight:
  • Naval 1911 : 471 kg (1.038 lb)
  • Coastal defence : 446 kg (984 lb)
  • German coastal HE : 405 kg (893 lb)
• Initial velocity of the shell:
  • Naval 1911 471 kg shell : 762 meters/second (2,500 feet/second)
  • Coastal defence 446 kg shell : 853 meters/second (2800 feet/second)
• Range:
  • With 471 kg shell : 29,340 meters (32,080 yards)

Coastal artillery

Coast defence turret today at Kuivasaari, Finland

In addition to being deployed aboard the Gangut class and Imperatritsa Mariya class battleships, these pieces were also emplaced as coastal artillery in the Peter the Great Naval Fortress along the Tallinn-Porkkala-Udd defensive line, as well as being mounted as railway guns. Some guns were captured by the Germans in World War II and used in the Mirius battery in Guernsey (occupied Channel Islands).

1938 Railway gun TM-3-12

A TM-3-12 at the Museum of Railway Technology, Saint Petersburg, October 2007

Three railway guns were built, using guns from the sunken battleship Imperatritsa Mariya, which had been lost to a magazine explosion in Sevastopol harbor in October, 1916. They were used in the Soviet-Finnish war in 1939-1940. In June–December 1941 they took part in the defense of the Soviet naval base on Finland's Hanko peninsula (Rus. Gangut/ Гангут). They were disabled by Soviet seamen when the base was evacuated, and were later restored by Finnish specialists using guns from the withdrawn Russian battleship Imperator Aleksander III. After the war these were handed over to the Soviet Union, and they were maintained in operational condition until 1991, and withdrawn in 1999. When withdrawn from service, they were the last battleship-caliber Obukhov pieces still operational in the world.

See also

• BL 12 inch Mk XI - XII naval gun Vickers British equivalent
• 30.5 cm SK L/50 gun German equivalent

References

• DiGiulian, Tony. "12 inch mod 1907 gun". Navweapons.com. http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNRussian_12-52_m1907.htm. 

External links

• MK-3-12 history (in Russian)